On 8 March, we celebrate International Women’s Day with this year’s theme “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights”.
We still have a long way to go. In October 2019, UNECE hosted a regional meeting to review the progress and discuss the challenges in the implementation of the most visionary agenda for gender equality and the empowerment of women, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing+25). The regional Beijing+25 review meeting showed that progress has been slow and uneven across the 56 member States of the UNECE region and gender gaps remain in all areas and countries. Member States underscored the critical importance of achieving gender equality to realize the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Recognizing this, governments and gender advocates made a powerful call to accelerate the implementation of effective and forward-looking measures for gender equality. And these measures need to have an impact on all generations, be it in rural or urban areas, to change mindsets and traditions, address the needs of women and girls and empower them for the equal participation together with men and boys in the digital economy, mitigating climate change and contributing to all areas of political, economic and social life.
“On this International Women’s Day, I urge everyone to take concrete steps each day towards gender equality”, said UNECE Executive Secretary Olga Algayerova. “Strive for gender balance in the workplace – from recruitment to representation in meetings and decision-making processes; address women’s needs in the policy recommendations in your respective area of work; find a new entry point on your project to reflect gender issues; raise awareness among family, friends and colleagues, or simply try to use gender neutral language in your everyday actions. Happy International Women’s Day”.
UNECE will continue to support all its member States to advance women’s economic empowerment as a critical foundation for the 2030 Agenda, through capacity building, policy dialogue and data collection. UNECE mainstreams gender equality across all its activities and partnerships.
